Crime rates rise in Delhi unabated: Are cops sleeping?

Till August this year, the Capital has seen 1,147 robberies as compared to 1,027 in 2011, 454 rapes were committed as against 408 last year and 285 cases of attempted murders in contrast to 268 in 2011.

Senior Delhi Police officers say the new commissioner is more focused on the specialised branches.

On Friday night, 25-year-old Dheeraj Saini, a small-time transporter, was walking to a salon near his residence in Nathupura area of northwest Delhi when he was shot dead by two unidentified, motorcycle-borne assailants.

It may be an isolated incident, but is an addition to the long list of heinous crimes taking place in the Capital these days, almost on a routine basis. It is yet another instance which has cast a shadow on the state of policing in Delhi and has amplified security concerns of its citizens. And if the rising crime graph is any indication, the perception of the Capital being an unsafe city is unlikely to change anytime soon.

This year the city has already surpassed the number of crimes committed in 2011. Till August this year, 1,147 robberies had been reported compared to 1,027 in 2011, 454 rapes were committed as against 408 last year and 285 cases of attempted murders in contrast to 268 in 2011.

The situation seems to have only worsened in recent days. In September alone, more than a dozen people have been shot so far - a jilted lover went on a killing spree in southwest Delhi's Bindapur and Ghaziabad, before turning the gun on himself, two trigger-happy friends went on a rampage in Swarup Nagar, a doctor was murdered in New Rajender Nagar while three members of a family were gunned down on Friday, some of the instances that have shocked the city and revealed the pathetic condition of law and order in the Capital, where killers roam freely and weapons are transported like consumer goods.

Not only murders, the city has also witnessed an increase in the number of chain-snatching incidents, kidnappings and robbery attempts, few of whom the police could claim to have solved.

Recently, Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar issued orders making it mandatory for SHOs to be present in police stations six days a week and also announced additional functional helplines during night in each district. But on the ground things are yet to change.

Senior Delhi Police officers observed that the new commissioner, who took charge in July this year, is more focused on specialised branches of the force.

"His main focus has been the Special Cell of the Delhi Police and he wants it to be more effective," said a senior police officer.

That's the reason normal day-to-day policing has not been concentrated upon, creating a 'vacuum' on the ground.

Besides, the officers at the operational level rarely have had a chance to interact with the boss.

"He is an honest officer and a hardcore professional, but takes time to acclimatise to the system and always has his own way of seeing things," another officer added. In his first media briefing in July, Kumar claimed that most of the murders cannot be avoided as many a time close relatives are involved in the crime.

In September he acknowledged that the number of murders has increased but clarified that most of them were crimes of passion. "Almost all cases of murder that have grabbed the headlines have been committed by jilted lovers," Kumar said.

He conceded that there's been an increase in the use of firearms but said "we have to analyse data before reaching any conclusion". Three months into his job Kumar has started taking small steps to improve the system, but a major shake-up is yet to happen.

"Whatever changes or transfers have happened at the top has been done by the home ministry. You need to give him (Kumar) time to see the results on the ground," another senior officer said.

The situation has worsened in recent days. In September alone, more than a dozen people have been shot dead.